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** Opening Remarks: "A little wrap-up of the last game, (I'm) disappointed that we lost the ballgame. We did some things reasonably well. Certainly disappointed. We all are disappointed in several things. Some of the things we did well: the turnovers, the red zone. Two-for-three; we've been doing pretty good there. The third downs were reasonably good. We need a couple extra, especially early in that ballgame. There were several things (that we were) disappointed in; the main being the end of the game scenario. We hung in and hung in. Things weren't going our way; hung in, hung in, hung in and then we cut that thing to 13 (points) and we get the ball back with about five and half minutes (remaining). We didn't do some things the right way, and we have a chance. Now, odds were against us and all those things, (but) we've been there before and overcome those types of things. So we've got to play better there. The biggest reason we're disappointed is because we've been very good in those situations at the end of games and we failed to accomplish much at all. Now, some other things: (we had) second-and-one, two or three, several times, I believe three times and we gained zero or went backwards. We overcame it several times; we overcame it, but we must be able to pick up those second-and-short and mediums in the running game. And there's many other things that we've got to get better at.
"Now, let's move on to New Orleans. Man, I'm excited. I know our players are excited to go down there to New Orleans and play on Monday Night Football. We've got several things that we're working hard on the field and preparing hard to get better with before this ballgame kicks off Monday night. They've been struggling just a little bit, a little bit more than a little bit on defense and I'm sure they're working hard to get some of these things corrected."
On why the offense has struggled to get things going early in games: "Well, we've been working on that and, you know, our second drive there, we scored. That first drive; everyone's specifically individual depending on game or play. That was one of those third downs I thought we should have had. Well, there's no question if we simply execute the way we're supposed to. But, certainly, our staff has looked at that and we did score on the second drive so we're think that that'll be a little bit better as we move along. We've been excellent in the second and third quarters and then at the end of games, so we need to play at a higher level on more of a consistent basis."
On whether he is worried about how QB Michael Vick is looking to become less conservative on offense: "No, we've talked about that. You're exactly right. That's necessary. Our whole offensive team, you know our mentality. We've talked about that before. We want to be aggressive, aggressive, aggressive; unafraid to make a mistake. When we make a mistake, we admit it, we find a solution, we correct it and we move on and it's that simple. Now, there's reasons why these things occur. Excellence is all about attitude and a certain mentality and so, we've discussed that as a unit and that is important; that attitude and that certain mentality that you were talking about."
On whether he thought the aggressive attitude was missing during the past few games: "I thought at a certain point in that ballgame, I'm not sure it was missing, but we needed more of it. I'm talking about that certain mentality and that attitude. You understand, I'm disappointed because we hung in there and hung in there when things aren't going right and that's typically what you do. Then, you give yourselves a chance to win at the end and we didn't get that thing done. So, right there is where you need it. You need it all the time, but right there. I'm not talking just about me; we're all disappointed as an offensive unit about that."
On how he found the attitude that he thought was missing: "Well, some things are unexplainable, but we talked about it; it's a certain attitude that we are the baddest men on the field and that mentality that we're going to be aggressive, aggressive, aggressive and it's just that simple."
On whether there has been an emphasis on Vick running the ball more: "That's got to flow naturally though, where he moves and/or runs when he's forced. Otherwise, we'll stay with the play and we got away from that just a little bit that last ballgame. We had, certainly, some opportunities to be just a little bit more explosive and against certain teams, you're only going to get a certain amount of chances and we failed to do that."
On the trouble with players recognizing late safety blitzes: "Really, I believe we're in the top ten against the blitz as far as passing, as far as rating and all those type of things. You can figure it out a million different ways. However, at the end of that ballgame, these were a couple of things that we've seen time and time again and done it in the past and we didn't get it done. Very simple; it's a very simple adjustment there. So, we've already talked about that. That was one of the things I was disappointed in there. We've got to be able to catch the football, we've got to be able to do some simple adjustments to pick some safety-type blitzes and some delayed-type blitzes up. It's just that simple."
On whether he is surprised that the offense had trouble picking up the blitzes late in the game: "Well, we've seen it all the time. It's just very simple things. We talked about that just a minute ago about playing at a high level, because, look, we did some very good things. But we've got to do them each and every time and so we've got to play at that high level on a consistent basis."
On how a lack of success in the run game can affect how you call a game on offense: "I thought we were in a pretty good rhythm. Now, we've got to execute just a little bit better on a couple of those. We had some drives; I think we scored on the first three out of six possessions. We've got to be better than that and we've just got to play at a higher level on a consistent basis. As far as the (play calling), you like to pick it up on second-and-short and these type of things in the running game. We did some good things, but we we're down trying to get that thing back within two scores and then ultimately one score and then try to win the ballgame. So, we've got to run the ball on a more consistent high level."
On whether he sees the potential of T/G Dennis Kelly securing the right guard job: "Well, I know this, that he's got a bright future and I know this, that he's going to end up being a heck of a football player. And then we'll see when other men get healthy and these type of things."
On whether Kelly looks better at guard than he did at tackle: "I do know he's got the ability to play both. He certainly can play the guard position and I believe he's got enough athleticism, certainly, to play on the edge as well. Now, he's got a long way to go. He's busting in here, preparing and trying to get better and all those things. Now, people have got some film on him so that's a great challenge right there for him."
On how he would assess Vick at this point in the season: "There's some great things that he's done. He's led us to three late, fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victories and there was another game that he led us to a lead fairly late in the game. So, that part has been excellent and Mike simply needs to play at that high level on a consistent basis, play in and play out."
On whether he believes that the talk of replacing Vick has affected his play during practice or in meetings: "Well, I'm not going to get into the private conversations and we've had certainly a couple of them as of late. Mike was very honest and I think that was important and I believe he addressed that. I'm not sure, but secondhand, I heard he has addressed that. So my point is, for all of our players, we want to play at a high level on a consistent basis and we want to have that attitude and that certain mentality that we've always discussed and had here. We typically have it; we've gone through some hard times as a ballclub in the past and then have come out of it and played well down the stretch. Well, last year, it was too late when we put it all together. We've got put it together now. We've got to get going here."
On how much of a focus or distraction the Vick situation presents for him: "Very little. I will say this, that there are some players that can't play in this city. It's that simple, and then the tough guys, both physically and mentally, can thrive playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and this city. You know, I've been here a while now and I've grown to love and respect our fans. They are passionate. It's almost like, hey, they can say anything they want about their players, but no one else can. We understand that and it's just very simple that outside influences distract us zero. It's that simple and I've talked about that a little bit, generally, here with that certain attitude and that certain mentality."
On how Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's defensive philosophy has evolved: "Well, it has evolved, and that's a good point because he's had a different sort of players at every different spot. Now, it's very, very similar, his system. He's got the system, but what he does during a particular ballgame against a particular opponent may be very different because of the personnel that he has and he's got an awful lot of scheme. So, we're working hard to prepare for all of that and we have certainly some thoughts on how to attack his scheme."
On why the running game has been less impactful and whether he would like to get RB LeSean McCoy more involved: "Well, that was a misnomer back with (QB Jeff) Garcia; we threw the ball just as much as we did before. We just ran the ball just a little bit better when Jeff played or it was very, very close. It was like one run more a game, but we were leading in those games as well. But anyways, that's years ago and Jeff was a heck of a player. The running game is important. It's important to do in a physical manner and we've done some very good things in the running game. I think LeSean's over 500 yards and reasonably good yards per carry, all those things. We've got to do it at a high level on a more consistent basis and that will certainly calm some other things down."
On how the team can be more aggressive without creating more turnovers and allowing the quarterback to get hit more: "Every game is an individual specific. Now, we're always aggressive. I'm just talking about that aggressive mentality and that makes you just a little bit more dynamic. I know what you're saying; however, the last ballgame, I thought we were just a little bit too careful with our mentality and it's just that simple. We've got to play loose and free and we've talked about that. Just simply unafraid to make a mistake; if we make one, we correct it. It's that simple and certainly that mentality will help us just a little bit with some of our dynamic ability there."
